


見つけた、凛！(found you, Rinrin!)

by gemini_in_tauro



Series: gem's Valentines collection [5]
Category: Free!
Genre: Canon Divergence, M/M, Pre-Canon, Romance, imagine if
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 06:04:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13607103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gemini_in_tauro/pseuds/gemini_in_tauro
Summary: It was, in theory, as easy as saying ‘hot water’. In practice, however, it was a different matter entirely. Nagisa chases after Rin and goes to Australia in order to stay by his side. That way, Rin won't have to be lonely in his grief.(Rin is thankful for that.)(Día 5/11 del especial de San Valentín)





	見つけた、凛！(found you, Rinrin!)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moeblobmegane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moeblobmegane/gifts), [Princess_andromeda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princess_andromeda/gifts).



> So... both of you (Princess and moeblobmegane) know English is not my mother tongue. If it were, oh boi, this would have come even longer.
> 
> I have to admit, I cannot write Ringisa to save my life, I just cannot. It was funny to write this little thingie here and have it ready before Valentines. I know I should post this on Valentine's, but I wanted to have it ready for the both of you. With how much you love this darlings and stuff.
> 
> This will also be part of my Valentine's series, as you guessed on the summary.

_ «Aki couldn’t imagine how tiring must be, for Nagisa to chase after someone like Rin.» _

* * *

  
  


It was, in theory, as easy as saying ‘hot water’.

 

In practice, however, it was a different matter entirely.

 

Not only it was hard to convince his father, he seemed like he would never, never give up on his statement. That is, with him weeping and saying he needed.

 

Nagisa tried with getting better grades.

 

He obtained a 100 in his last test, and his lowest grade was one of 93 before September was over. His father seemed satisfied, and when he also added that he needed to be ‘where there weren’t that many girls so he could man up even more’ his father finally accepted into letting him go.

 

He somehow arranged a fly out to Australia, and he told him he needed to have grades like the ones he last achieved if he truly wanted his spend in Australia be a more… permanent thing.

 

“They’ll probably be lower in the first three months or so, my English needs polishment.”

 

His father seemed convinced with that answer, but asked him to promise no grade lower than 87. He would suffice with that at the very least. Nagisa told him he would do his best to maintain those grades.

 

The flight wasn’t anything from another world, but it was still amazing for Nagisa to go to a country outside his own (it was still unbelievably the part he would truly need English in his life. He thought at the begining he would only use words like ‘party’ or ‘shower’ or ‘mail’ but apparently the japanization—like he sometimes called the way those words were used in daily basis as though they were originally from Japanese—wouldn’t be enough for him to survive. Not anymore, at least). The plane arrived at the airport, and he was still glued to his own window in the commercial flight, amazed even by the mere sight of the landing strip. It wasn’t until the voice of the pilot came from the speakers that he was welcomed back to reality.

 

He took his backpack from the package and trailed after the air hostess that was supposed to take care of him—with Nagisa being less than twelve years old and stuff—until the people that were going to take him in came.

 

The paperwork and documentation wasn’t as hasty as his father warned would be. The air mistress helped translating everything he didn’t understand (aka., every three words she came in to help) and translated whatever he needed to say (that he understood English didn’t mean he felt confident enough to talk it for himself) to the officers or whatever those men in uniform at the customs office were.

 

“Well mate, welcome to Australia!”

 

The couple (a man with a Hawaiian shirt and surfist countenand and a climber-like woman) smiled at him and gestured him to follow outside the airport.

 

“We were friends with your mother on High School,” admitted the woman once he asked how they were so kind to receive him “we had to sign some other one hundred more documentation to be able to take you in with us, of course, but I guess it’s worth it. You’ll see you will get used to live here in Australia.”

* * *

  
  


Fortunately for him, he indeed got used to living in Australia as quick as he could. Also, with the advantage of having at the moment winter break, he could study enough English before entering school (they apparently started vacations at mid December, and they had toooooons of winter days to rest). The Agunis (who took him in) also helped him with whatever he couldn’t understand and practiced with him however they could without mixing up the things he was already learning.

 

That way, by the end of winter vacations he was capable enough of not sucking up in his self-presentation. Everything was going out smoothly between he and his classmates until…

 

“Found you, Rinrin!”

 

...yeah, Nagisa couldn’t help yelling in Japanese said phrase. In the middle of the cafeteria.

 

Yelling.

 

In the middle of the  **cafeteria** .

 

And Rin… Rin was munching some kind of spaghetti before he heard the familiar voice coming from somewhere at the school. Seeing the people of his same table getting confused, he gulped and pretended he didn’t hear it. It was easy, until he heard quick footsteps coming on his way.

 

“Excuse me, is this seat already taken?” his voice in English was even sweeter. Sure, his accent was kind of lacking the fluidity it would have if he were native (not even Rin had mastered yet more than the basics of English). However, his grammar was correct, and the unpreoccupied way it came out of his lips made something in Rin wretch in envy. Yeah, he was feeling envious, because Nagisa’s talking came more natural than his.

 

“Nah, can take it mate.” answered one of his classmates for him, seeing his apparent inability to respond to such a simple question (it wasn’t he didn’t know how to answer, but the fact he was still under the surprise of seeing him again).

 

“How you have been doing, Rinrin? It feels like years.”

 

Rin didn’t answer immediately. He was pretending to be occupied with his spaghetti. Such a delicious spaghetti musn’t be left to get cold, after all. It was fine with Nagisa, he could talk enough for the both of them.

 

“Everyone’s miss you, Rinrin. I promised them sending letter for your too.”

 

(Even if his grammar wasn’t that cut off, it was still better than Rin’s—

 

“You mad at me because I didn’t tell you before getting? Don’t get mad, please!”

 

—even if he was being really clingy and he was getting on his nerves—

 

“Rinrin, please, say something. I’ll do anything, but talk me.”

 

—it felt good to have someone at his side, someone that understood him.)

 

The bell rang, sentencing the end of their 20 minutes of one-sided conversation. Rin was going back to his own classroom, but was stopped quickly by Nagisa’s hand.

 

“Rinrin.”

 

He sighed and told his classmates: “see you in classroom.” 

 

Another sharp intake of breath and he looked back at Nagisa, who was doing  _ the pout  _ (he was never able to avoid doing Nagisa’s wishes after he used the pout) at that precise moment. He scratched the back of his head, not knowing how to start.

 

“It’s truly been a while, Nagisa” he finally let out in Japanese. That seemed to make Nagisa his ever-chatty self again, and he  _ clung  _ to his arm like some kind of leech that came out of thin air and would do nothing more than stay.

 

Rin smiled a little. Yeah, that definitely was Nagisa.

 

* * *

 

“Come with me!”

 

It was a week after Nagisa coming to Australia with him. This time, Rin was holding a sandwich and, fortunately for him, Nagisa wasn’t yelling in Japanese like the first time they reunited.

 

“Excuse me? To your class? Sorry, saw that last year, not interested.”

 

Nagisa made a fake pout and seated beside him, not even asking this time if the seat had already been taken or if it was available. Somehow, Rin’s classmates understood his nature and adapted quite quickly to ( Rin’s dismay) his antics.

 

“Did not mean that. I was talking about coming to my house. You now, play games, talking. Chull... or whatever it was called.”

 

“Chill?” helped one of his uppers before continuing with his own food.

 

“Yeah, that. Thanks” he then turned back to Rin, who was trying to pretend he was eating. “Then? Say yes?”

 

Rin sighed. “I… guess I’ll ask for permission.”

* * *

  
  


“I still don’t get it.”

 

“What?”

 

It was summer, and both of them had a cup of ice cream (Nagisa had to eat the major part of Rin’s, though). A perfect day of summer.

 

“Why did you come to Australia?”

 

Nagisa stopped licking the half melted strawberry ice cream on his cup and shrugged. “I wanted to be with my parent’s friends, and learn a new language without going that far away from home. America’s like, really far away.”

 

“You’re lying.”

 

Nagisa took a spoonful of his watered ice. “Then, why do you think I came here?”

 

Answering  _ ‘because I was here’  _ was not something Rin would allow himself to say. First, it was egocentric and he wasn’t like that at all. Second, he knew Nagisa was fond of his friends, but leaving the majority just to chase after him?

 

It was still egocentric to think it, but something inside of him was glad Nagisa would think so highly of him.

 

“Rinrin looked so devastated after the incident with his father. I thought perhaps letting him leave alone, to an unknown place, was not the best option to take. I know I came a bit late, but somehow, I think I am  _ still _ on time.”

 

Rin couldn’t let more than a little stifle when the tears started to fall. He let out a gulp when he felt the little body of Nagisa covering and hugging him, melted ice cream long forgotten.

 

It was shameful, for Nagisa to console him, with Rin being the older of them.

 

“I learnt a new word today; grieve. It applies to you, Rinrin. Grieve all you need.”

 

But it was heartwarming, too.

* * *

 

  
  


They were doing junior school homework when Nagisa apparently remembered something.

 

“Be right back.”

 

Rin decided to concentrate on his Math problems. He couldn’t keep it much longer than a few seconds because his friend came back with a bag.

 

“Now, I know you don’t like sweet stuff so I tried… to make it the less sweet possible. C’mon, open it.”

 

Opening the box, Rin opened his eyes wide, and looked at the calendar that was lying on the wall.

 

Oh.

 

“Chocolates?” he finally said. Nagisa nodded, albeit nervously. Being in understanding with the current implication of accepting the chocolates, he bit one and then look at Nagisa. “You’re right. They don’t taste that sweet. What did you do?”

 

Nagisa scratched the back of his head. “Well, I put half the portion of cacao they usually have. The cacao serves to… um, grow stronger the taste of each ingredient, so by putting less cacao in the recipe the chocolates will not taste that sweet.”

 

Rin nodded. “Thanks, Nagisa.”

 

There was an awkward silence, before Rin finally decided.

 

“Say, do you want to go out for some popcorns and rent a movie? I know it’s not really romantic, but the training left me exhausted and I have no patience for a formal dinner.”

 

Now it was Nagisa’s turn to be surprised. He quickly nodded and clung to him, like Rin was some kind of life saving.

 

Rin thought about it, intensely, whilst holding Nagisa’s hand all the way to the convenience store and picking a few popcorn packages. And came to the conclusion that it wasn’t like that at all.

 

The life saving one was Nagisa, for pursuing him in his time of need, and being there even if he didn’t ask him to.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it. This might be the first and last thing I write of these too, or other stuff might come, but it will take me centuries to write something else.
> 
> (They're so cute to write about, also! Hope they weren't OoC, with how I depicted them)
> 
> Inspiration was taken from an hour and half listening non-stop to Fire Starter by Demi Lovato.


End file.
